Doubt
by musicchica10
Summary: Oneshot based on a dream I had. Ariadne has been acting strange and won't tell Arthur what's going on...soon things get complicated and will it be too late for them?


**Alright, this is a ONESHOT that I have been working on for a while. I have Inception dreams sometimes and have to write them, and this is one of them...hope you enjoy! Review please!**

**I don't own Inception...but I do own the dream that I had. Thus the plot is mine ;)

* * *

  
**

"What do you mean she's been acting strange lately?" Dom asked Arthur as they bought some coffee and sat down at a small table in the café.

"I don't know, she's been acting jumpy and paranoid and I have no idea why. Sometimes she'll get these calls and she won't tell me who it is." Arthur sighed and looked at the cup in his hand. He watched as the steam fluttered into the air and disappeared.

Dom watched Arthur curiously. "Have you talked to her about it?" He finally asked. Arthur looked up and nodded.

"Yes, and she always changes the subject or she'll get angry with me for 'butting into her business.'" Arthur replied, he took a sip from his coffee and shook his head as he thought about how the past few weeks have been.

"And you think she's cheating on you?" Dom finally asked, getting to the point.

"I don't know what to think Dom. I mean, she wouldn't do that to me, I know she wouldn't. She isn't the type of person to, but this is getting ridiculous. I don't even know if she's in danger." Arthur let out a frustrated sigh and slumped back into his chair, which was very un-Arthur of him.

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Dom asked. Arthur shook his head.

"No, she'll think that I sent you. I'll figure this out on my own."

"Well you better get this all sorted out soon, we're leaving in two days. We have to beat our Mark there so we can set up." Dom said, not wanting to add that if Arthur's personal feelings got in the way it could ruin the job.

Arthur nodded and looked around. He enjoyed watching people. It was a way to escape, to not have to be involved with them, but just observe them. Dom stood up and Arthur looked at him curiously.

"I'm heading back to the warehouse. If you need anything, just call." Dom told him.

"I'll be there soon." Arthur answered absentmindedly. Dom sighed and walked off, leaving his friend in thought.

Arthur really had no idea what was going on with Ariadne, he knew she'd never cheat on him. She just wasn't the type to hurt him in that way. He groaned and put his head in his hands. He wanted to figure things out soon.

* * *

Ariadne was nervous and worried. She knew she couldn't tell Arthur because it would make him upset, but she knew he was getting hurt by her actions and secrecy. She just couldn't tell him, it would put not only her in danger, but him also.

She sighed and tucked her phone in her pocket. She began to receive strange phone calls from a man a couple weeks ago. Each phone call left her more and more afraid. She would have told Arthur right away, but he threatened her, Arthur, and the team. So she kept her mouth shut.

She could tell that Arthur was getting suspicious of her, thinking that maybe she was cheating on him. It did look that way, but it's not what was going on. Now Dom was watching her more and he would subtly follow her. She was getting annoyed, but she knew she deserved it with the way she was acting.

Eames noticed the strange behavior between the Architect and Point Man. He thought it was pretty amusing and if anything it gave him a chance to mess with Arthur's head.

He casually walked over to where Arthur was standing and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Trouble in paradise darling?" He asked. Arthur stiffened and Eames could see his jaw clenching.

"It's none of your business Eames." Arthur grunted. Eames chuckled.

"Oh, but Arthur, it is. If this is going to mess with your head, it's going to mess with our mission. Therefore, it is my business." Eames reasoned. Arthur whipped around and glared at Eames.

"Eames, for once just butt out of things!" Arthur raised his voice. Eames smirked and walked off as Ariadne started to walk by, carrying her phone and looking around nervously as it rang.

"So who is he darling?" Eames asked and glanced back at Arthur who looked like he was about to murder him.

Ariadne snapped her head up and glared at him. "I'm not cheating on Arthur!" She shouted and stalked off, answering the phone.

Arthur watched Ariadne walk off and sighed. Something was going on, but he didn't know what, and what annoyed him the most was the fact that she was keeping it from him.

"Well if she is cheating on you, it has to be a man with more imagination." Eames told Arthur and began to walk off, but Arthur was furious and went after him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Eames turned around just as Arthur's fist connected with his nose.

"What the hell?" Eames shouted, clutching his nose as blood dripped down his face.

"I told you to shut up Eames." Arthur replied and walked off, straightening his jacket and grabbing his things before slamming the door shut as he left the warehouse.

"What's wrong with you Eames?" Ariadne finally confronted him.

"What's wrong with me? Arthur's the one who decided to use my face as a punching bag."

"You deserved it." Ariadne raised her voice.

"Ah, but you're the one breaking his heart. You're the one hurting him with all this secrecy." Eames pointed out. That was it for Ariadne too, her right hand came into contact with Eames' left cheek.

"How dare you! I told you I'm not cheating on him. But none of you believe me!" Ariadne was crying now. She was sick and tired of all of their accusations and assumptions, but if she even breathed a word to anyone, the man threatened to come after them. She was just trying to keep her team safe. To keep Arthur safe.

She stalked off, tears flowing freely down her face and she also gathered her things before heading out of the warehouse. Luckily she already had everything done and they had gone through the dreams, the only thing they had to do was go through with the job.

Ariadne wiped her tears and began running. She made her way to a small park. It was her favorite place to go and think and clear her head. She sat down on a small bench and pulled out her sketchbook from her small messenger bag. As she was sketching, her phone rang.

She sighed and pulled out the phone, looking at the caller id. It was the mysterious man.

"What do you want?" She snapped.

"Now, now. That's no way to talk to someone who can take out your entire team, especially Arthur." He replied, a smirk evident in his voice. She looked around her cautiously and frowned.

"What do you want from me?" She finally asked.

"I want you to bring Arthur to me." He replied.

"What! No! Why would I do that?" She shrieked.

"Because I'm…."

* * *

Arthur paced around his apartment angrily. It felt great to punch Eames, he deserved it, but a part of him felt that he shouldn't have done it. It wasn't Eames' fault things with Ariadne weren't going well.

He sighed and clenched his fist, letting out a frustrated grunt. He kicked his couch and sat down on it. He pulled out his phone and tried calling Ariadne, but it went straight to voicemail. He got angry and chucked it at the wall, luckily not hard enough to break.

He sunk down onto the floor and held his head in his hands. He sat there for almost an hour before getting up and grabbing his phone. He undressed and went to bed, his phone on the dresser next to the bed.

* * *

Ariadne dropped the phone in shock. This couldn't be. If the man really was who he said he was, she really couldn't tell Arthur, but the man wanted to meet with Arthur. She shook her head and picked up the phone.

"I, I can't do that." She whispered into the phone, her voice uneven.

"Yes you can, and you will. When you're at the airport tomorrow I expect you to bring him to me. I want to see him." And with that the phone line went dead. Ariadne sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Things just got ten times more complicated. She quickly dialed Arthur's number, her hands shaking.

"Hello?" Arthur's groggy voice answered.

"A-Arthur." Ariadne managed to get out.

"Ariadne! Where are you? Are you ok?" Arthur asked, immediately alert.

"I'm fine. Can you pick me up? I'm at the small park I usually come to." She whispered.

"I'll be there in five minutes." He said before hanging up.

Ariadne sighed with relief. She just didn't know how she'd explain things to Arthur. She certainly couldn't tell him about the phone call, and tomorrow the man would definitely be looking for Arthur. She held in a sob and turned back to her sketchbook, hoping to clear her mind.

"Ariadne." Arthur's voice called for her about five minutes later. Ariadne turned around and saw Arthur standing there, concern written all over his face. She tried smiling, but her lips quivered and she had to turn around so he wouldn't see. Arthur made his way to her and sat next to her.

"What's going on?" Arthur asked, trying to get her to open up with him.

She shook her head, not knowing whether or not to just tell him everything. She decided to not tell him. She would just have to keep an eye on Arthur tomorrow.

"Why did you come out here?" He asked instead, seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer from her.

"I slapped Eames earlier today." She replied. Arthur chuckled softly. She turned to look at him with sad eyes.

"I'd say he probably deserved it." Arthur said. Ariadne smiled softly and looked at her hands. "I'm not cheating on you Arthur. You have to trust me."

Arthur stiffened next to her and she held her breath, waiting for a response.

"Then why aren't you telling me what's going on?" He asked. She could hear the hurt in his voice, but she couldn't risk him getting physically hurt.

"Because."

"Because why Ari?"

"I just can't, I promise you things will get resolved, and then I'll tell you. But right now I can't." She whimpered, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes.

Arthur pulled her close and held her. "I can help you."

"That's what I'm afraid of." She whispered. "I don't want anything to happen to you or for you to get too involved in things that it turns out bad."

"I can take care of you." Arthur tried again.

"I'm not worried about me. Arthur can't you see, if you get mixed up in things and something happens to me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

"Ari, I can take care of myself too." Arthur tried reasoning with her, wanting to take whatever burden she was carrying.

"Just, trust me on this. Ok?" Ariadne asked.

He nodded, frustrated that she wouldn't let him help. "But if anything happened to you, I don't know what I would be able to do. Don't you understand that?"

She looked at him and pursed her lips. "I won't let anything happen to me or you." She replied. Arthur wasn't satisfied with her answer, but he had no choice. She was stubborn, just as stubborn as him.

* * *

The next day at the airport, Ariadne was alert. She watched all around her, to make sure that there was no sign of danger. Unfortunately, she had no idea what this man looked like.

"Alright, we board in an hour. Everyone ready for this?" Dom asked, eyeing Arthur and Ariadne. They noticed this and glanced at each other, nodding. Eames scoffed and Dom shot him a look of disapproval.

Ariadne frowned and kept a watchful eye around her. She caught a glimpse of a man in an all black suit. He looked strikingly similar to Arthur and she became alert. She turned to look at Arthur and gasped. Arthur was still there, but this definitely had to be the man that was after him.

"We're going for coffee, want to come?" Dom asked Ariadne and Eames. Eames nodded, but Ariadne shook her head.

"I'm going to head to the bathroom, I'll meet you guys there." She answered. Arthur raised his brows, silently asking her if she wanted him to wait for her. She shook her head slightly and picked up her bag. "Go on, I'll be there soon."

"Alright, call if you need anything." Dom said. Ariadne smiled and nodded. Arthur watched her carefully and followed Dom and Eames. She let out a nervous sigh when they were out of sight and quickly made her way to the man.

"Ah, it looks like you are more observant than I give you credit for. Where is Arthur?"

"I'm not bringing him to you." She replied, defiance etched in her voice.

"I have the right, he's my son!" The man replied.

"Well for being his father you sure do threat him and those he loves. I don't think he wants to see you anyways." She retorted.

"So you told him I called?" He asked.

"No." She replied.

"Well I'm going to have to find him myself." He answered and started to walk off, but she grabbed his arm.

"Stay away from him. What do you even want to do with him anyways?" She asked, her grip not getting any gentler.

"He has some lose ends with Cobol that haven't been fixed, and they sent me to do it. Resistance is futile and if he does resist I have strong orders not to let him escape alive." He replied.

"You're his father and you're willing to kill him? What kind of man are you?" She asked, disgust in her voice.

"A man who does his job." He pulled his arm away from her and elbowed her in the stomach. She toppled over and gasped, keeping her eyes on him. She quickly regained her composure and followed him. He started to jog in the terminal and she followed him closely. He noticed this and tried to punch her again, but she dodged him. Thankfully Arthur had insisted on training her for hand to hand fighting.

Arthur's father snarled at her and turned around, picking up his speed. Ariadne saw Arthur, Eames, and Dom making their way from around the corner. Ariadne watched with wide eyes as Arthur's father pulled out a gun.

"Arthur! Watch out!" She shouted, pushing her way in front of Arthur's father and running towards Arthur. Arthur watched in horror as Ariadne jumped in front of the gun as his father shot it and toppled to the floor.

Security guards immediately were there, taking down Arthur' father and handcuffing him.

"Ariadne!" Arthur rushed to her and carefully cradled her. "Ari, look at me. Come on. Stay with me. Please. Don't do this to me."

Ariadne could barely focus on Arthur. Her eyes wouldn't stay open, but she tried for Arthur. "I'm sorry." She whispered, weakly bring her hand to cup his cheek.

"Ari, no. Remember your promise. Stay awake. Come on, we'll get you to the hospital and you'll be fine." Arthur desperately tried to keep Ariadne conscious.

Dom and Eames were frantically shouting for a first aid kit and an ambulance.

"Arthur! Arthur, you need to put pressure on her wound. It's going to keep bleeding." Dom had to raise his voice to get Arthur's attention. Arthur moved his hands to put pressure on her wound. Her head was resting on Arthur's chest, and as Arthur applied pressure, she let out a small whimper.

"I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head. "Just stay with me. Don't fall asleep."

She nodded, but slowly she lost consciousness, the pain and drowsiness becoming too much for her to handle.

"Dom! We need to get her to the hospital." He anxiously told Dom.

"We are working on it! Calm down Arthur. What was your father doing here anyways?" Dom asked, trying to get Arthur's mind off of Ariadne.

"I don't know. Ariadne must have known about this all along, I bet that's what these past few weeks have been about. But how did he get her number?" Arthur thought out loud.

"I'm sorry Arthur. I was such a jerk." Eames finally spoke up, his eyes never leaving Ariadne's limp body.

"Eames, I know you, it's alright."

"I'm going to go find out what's taking them so long." Eames said, stealing one last look at the couple on the floor.

"We'll discuss this later." Dom said, focusing on the urgent situation at hand.

"Right, right." Arthur nodded and looked back at Ariadne.

* * *

There was a repetitive beating in the background. She felt heavy, as if her body was glued and pressed down. She tried hard to open her eyes. Finally they fluttered open, focusing on her surroundings. She was in a bright, white room. There were flowers next to her bed and as she looked around, she found Arthur's head resting next to her lap. He was holding her hand and he was disheveled.

Flinching as she tried shifting, she held her breath, hoping she didn't wake Arthur. She figured he must be exhausted from staying with her. She couldn't help herself and ran her fingers through his messy hair.

Arthur shifted and looked up. When he saw that Ariadne was awake, he sat up quickly and moved closer to her.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" He asked, brushing some hair out of her face.

"Sore." She replied, her face scrunching up.

"Do you need me to call the nurse?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine. What happened?"

"After you got shot you passed out. Dom and Eames had to drive us here because the idiots at the airport weren't cooperating and the ambulance was late. So we just drove you here. They had to take out the bullet and stitch you up. Luckily nothing major got injured so you'll be fine. You'll have a scar when you heal, but other than that you're lucky it was as minor as it was." Arthur explained to her, taking her hand in both of his and kissing it.

"Arthur, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your dad. I just didn't want him to hurt you or go near you. And when I found out he was working for Cobol, I panicked and didn't want to tell you anything because I knew you'd go after him."

"Ari, I knew about my father. He's been trying to get to me for years. If I would have known he was trying to get to me through you, that would have been enough for me to hunt him down."

"That's what I was afraid of! I can't lose you!" She reasoned.

"And so I have to almost lose you?" Arthur asks. Ariadne quiets down and closes her eyes. She knew he was right.

"No. I'm sorry. I should have told you. I was just so scared."

"I know." Arthur replied, sitting on the bed, and pulling her to him. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying being in each other's arms.

"I want you to know that I'd never cheat on you." Ariadne finally spoke up.

"Where did that come from?"

"Eames was giving me a hard time and he was giving you a hard time, and I wanted to assure you that I wouldn't do that to you. Ever." Ariadne told him, looking in his eyes, seriousness written all over her face.

"I know you wouldn't. Eames can be a pain sometimes, but I trust you. However, I don't know if I can do this anymore." Arthur told her.

"What? Arthur, you're not breaking up with me? Are you?"

"No…but I have to be honest with you. I'm tired of how our relationship is. Not just that we need to work on communication more and trust, but seeing you at work and sometimes outside of work isn't enough."

"What are you saying?" Ariadne asked suspiciously.

"Ariadne, I want to spend my life with you. And I want you to spend yours with me. Always. Will you marry me?" Arthur asked, kneeling down and pulling out a ring. Ariadne gasped and nodded, happy tears running down her face.

"Yes! Of course Arthur! Oh my gosh." She choked back more tears as Arthur slipped the ring on her finger. She held out her hand, admiring the ring. "It fits. And it's beautiful."

"Of course it fits, it's my job to know that. Finding the right ring was a little harder. I knew you wanted a simple engagement ring, but I couldn't find the right diamond cut. And I didn't want to get gold, I wanted either white gold or platinum. It took me about twenty stores to find this one."

"I love you." Ariadne replied, pulling his head to hers and kissing him.

There was a bunch of clapping from the doorway and Arthur and Ariadne turned to find Eames and Dom standing there.

"Congrats!" They both replied, walking in.

"It's nice to see you awake. You've been out for a few days." Dom told her.

"What? What about the job?" She sat up urgently, forgetting about her injury. She hissed and carefully sat back against her pillow.

"We completed it. Arthur stayed with you, but Eames and I handled it. Don't worry." Dom calmed her.

"I'm sorry love, I really am. What I said a few days ago, it was out of line." Eames apologized.

"Eames, it's alright. Really. I think me slapping you helped." She chuckled.

"Right, you have quite a hit." Eames rubbed his cheek in reminiscence.

Arthur laughed. "I taught her well."

"That you did." Eames grinned.

"We'll leave you two alone now. We just wanted to congratulate the new engaged couple." Dom smiled, patting Arthur on the back and Eames smirked and winked at Ariadne.

"Thank you guys." They both replied, watching until they left.

"I love you." They told each other at the same time and began laughing. Ariadne made room for Arthur and they cuddled together, falling asleep happily.

* * *

**So what did you think? Review please! Again, this is a ONESHOT...so it won't have any more chapters...**


End file.
